Gibbs was the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish immigrant parents.Her father died when she was six months old, and she spent her first seven years in an orphanage in Worcester, separated from her other siblings.
She revealed a natural talent for singing at a very young age, and was given the lead in the orphanage's yearly variety show. She was reunited with her mother (who had visited her once every other month) when the latter found employment as a midwife. However, her job often forced her to leave her daughter alone for weeks at a time with only a Philco radio for company.
Gibbs began her professional career at the age of thirteen, and was singing in Boston's Raymor Ballroom the following year. She cut her first record with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra in 1936 (aged 16 or 17). "You don't really know loneliness unless you do a year or two with a one-night band, Gibbs said of her life on the big band circuit. sing until about 2 a.m. Get in a bus and drive 400 miles. Stop in the night for the greasy hamburger. Arrive in a town. Try to sleep. Get up and eat." (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 12, 1994.)
She soon found steady work on popular radio shows including Your Hit Parade, Melody Puzzles and The Tim And Irene Show. Gibbs freelanced in the late 1930s and 1940s singing with the bands of Frankie Trumbauer, Hal Kemp, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw. It was with Shaw's band (then billed as Fredda Gibson) that she scored her first hit, Absent Minded Moon (1942).
In 1943, she changed her name to Georgia Gibbs and began appearing on the popular Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore (it was Moore who bestowed the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs" upon her). The nickname is a playful reference to her diminutive stature of barely over 5 feet. She was a regular performer on this show until 1947.
Gibbs signed with Majestic Records in 1946, and while she recorded many great records she would have to wait until 1950 for her first hit single, If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake (on the Coral label). During this period she also was the featured singer on tours with comedians Danny Kaye and Sid Caesar. Miss Gibbs had a natural talent for comedy as well, and worked well in support of the immensely popular Kaye. But success as a singer continued to elude her. As noted in a 1952 Time article:
"Georgia," they kept telling her, "you gotta get a sound." Musical soothsayers were trying to get Songstress Georgia Gibbs into line with the latest fashion. Perhaps, they thought, she should sing mechanized duets with herself (like Patti Page), or she might try an echo chamber background (like Peggy Lee). But gimmicks were not Georgia Gibbs's cup of tea. She had a big, old-fashioned voice, a good ear, a vivacious personality, and she knew how to sing from the shoulder. She would stick with plain Georgia Gibbs.
And she eventually had success "sticking with plain Georgia Gibbs". Possessed of a versatile voice, she cut a long list of great records in every category from torch songs to rock-and-roll, to jazz, swing, old fashioned ballads and cha-chas. Her most successful record was Kiss Of Fire which reached the #1 position on the pop music charts in 1952. Kiss of Fire was adapted from the Argentinian tango El Choclo and the lyrics, arrangement and delivery communicate passion on a Wagnerian scale. It immediately became one of the defining songs of the era.
Sultry and throbbing, with a touch of vibrato, Georgia Gibbs' voice is best showcased on romantic ballads and torch songs like Melancholy Baby, I'll Be Seeing You, Autumn Leaves and You Keep Coming Back Like A Song. Yet she could be equally thrilling belting out a red hot jazz numbers like Red Hot Mama and A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz, or jiving with tunes like Ol Man Mose and Shoo Shoo Baby. Her Swingin' With Her Nibbs album (1956) demonstrated her natural affinity for improvisation as well.
Gibbs continued to be a frequent visitor to the charts throughout the first half of the decade (with over 40 charted songs), and was briefly successful doing rock 'n' roll songs as well. She appeared on many television shows throughout the decade, including the legendary Ed Sullivan show, and hosted one of her own, Georgia Gibbs And Her Million Record Show. She cut her final album, Call Me (1966) and rarely performed after that.
She spent many years being best known for her cover versions of Etta James' The Wallflower (recorded by Gibbs with modified lyrics under the title Dance With Me Henry) and of LaVern Baker's Tweedle Dee (which created some ado due to Ms. Baker's vociferous complaints) and for her novelty number The Hula Hoop Song, which was her last hit, in 1958.
Georgia Gibbs died of leukemia on December 9, 2006, aged 87, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
The Bridge Of Sighs
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Przeczuwam czego możesz chcieć
Tym razem, to przypuszczam będą słowa te
Nie kochasz mnie
Nie kocham Cię
Za dużo stało się, sam wiesz
Za wiele zapomniałam dni
Ja to nie ty, ty to nie my
Jak zatrzymany w biegu wiatr
Jak niebo wśród nocy bez gwiazd
Jak liść bez wody, tak ty
Beze mnie nie znaczysz już nic
Sama dla siebie jesteś tym
Kim ja dla ciebie chciałem być
Znikąd do nikąd wciąż przeganiasz moje sny
Ja to nie ty, ty to nie my
Ściskam w swej dłoni twoja dłoń
Pamiętam jak budziła mnie
I wieczorami kładła spać, a teraz, cóż
Nie kochasz mnie
Nie kocham Cię
Jak zatrzymany w biegu wiatr
Jak niebo wśród nocy bez gwiazd
Jak liść bez wody, tak ty
Beze mnie nie znaczysz już nic
Być może jeszcze kiedyś odnajdziemy się
Wiesz co?
Chyba sam w to nie wierzysz
Jak zatrzymany w biegu wiatr
Jak niebo wśród nocy bez gwiazd
Jak liść bez wody, tak ty
Beze mnie nie znaczysz już nic
Jak zatrzymany w biegu wiatr
Jak niebo wśród nocy bez gwiazd
Jak liść bez wody, tak ty
Beze mnie nie znaczysz już nic
The Polish lyrics of the song "The Bridge of Sighs" by Georgia Gibbs talk about a relationship that has gone sour, with both parties realizing that they no longer love each other. The first verse describes the feeling of holding hands with someone who you know is going to say what you don't want to hear. The second verse delves into the reasons for the relationship's failure - too many forgotten days and thoughtless words that can't be taken back. Although they used to mean everything to each other, the singer now feels like they're nothing without each other. In the final verse, the singer seems to hold onto a sliver of hope that they might find their way back to each other, but realizes that it's unlikely.
The song uses metaphors to highlight the loss and emptiness felt by the singer. The wind that's halted in its tracks, the night sky without stars, and the leaf without water are all powerful images highlighting the feeling of being incomplete without the other person.
Line by Line Meaning
Nie patrząc na mnie trzymasz dłoń
You're holding my hand without looking at me
Przeczuwam czego możesz chcieć
I have a feeling of what you might want
Tym razem, to przypuszczam będą słowa te
These words are probably going to be the ones this time
Nie kochasz mnie
You don't love me
Nie kocham Cię
I don't love you
Za dużo stało się, sam wiesz
Too much has happened, you know that
Za wiele zapomniałam dni
I've forgotten too many days
Nieprzemyślanych słów i chwil tak wiele jest
There are so many unthinking words and moments
Ja to nie ty, ty to nie my
I'm not you, you're not me
Jak zatrzymany w biegu wiatr
Like wind stopped in its tracks
Jak niebo wśród nocy bez gwiazd
Like sky in the night without stars
Jak liść bez wody, tak ty
Like leaf without water, you
Beze mnie nie znaczysz już nic
You don't mean anything without me
Sama dla siebie jesteś tym
You're what you are for yourself
Kim ja dla ciebie chciałem być
Who I wanted to be for you
Znikąd do nikąd wciąż przeganiasz moje sny
You keep chasing my dreams from nowhere to nowhere
Ściskam w swej dłoni twoja dłoń
I'm holding your hand in mine
Pamiętam jak budziła mnie
I remember how you used to wake me up
I wieczorami kładła spać, a teraz, cóż
And put me to sleep in the evenings, but now, well
Nie kochasz mnie
You don't love me
Nie kocham Cię
I don't love you
Być może jeszcze kiedyś odnajdziemy się
Maybe we'll find each other someday
Wiesz co?
You know what?
Chyba sam w to nie wierzysz
I don't think you believe that yourself
Jak zatrzymany w biegu wiatr
Like wind stopped in its tracks
Jak niebo wśród nocy bez gwiazd
Like sky in the night without stars
Jak liść bez wody, tak ty
Like leaf without water, you
Beze mnie nie znaczysz już nic
You don't mean anything without me
Jak zatrzymany w biegu wiatr
Like wind stopped in its tracks
Jak niebo wśród nocy bez gwiazd
Like sky in the night without stars
Jak liść bez wody, tak ty
Like leaf without water, you
Beze mnie nie znaczysz już nic
You don't mean anything without me
Writer(s): Jacek Lagwa, Michal Wisniewski
Contributed by Michael P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
fras2008
One of the greatest voices in popular music. Thanks for including this one -- a song worthy of her talent.
MzFlowerchild
Lovely version by Ms Gibbs, thank you for sharing ............Peace
Corrie121
I was only sixteen years of age when this was released and although I have not heard this old favourite in many years, I was able to sing along with it ! Great post.Great artiste. Thanks for sharing.
My Space
What a Soprano, her voice is timeless.
Mark Gallagher
I'm glade that you still remember this song. Not many today even know who Georgia Gibbs was. They missed out on a great singer.
Mark Gallagher
I Don't know if anyone else had recorded this great song, but Georgia's was the only one to chart. It only charted #30, I think it sould have charted much higher than that.
Alberto Alves
Beautiful song. GG was great singer👍👍
xerio xaviera
Great.... what a song!!! what a performance!!!
TonVlogger
This song is associated with my childhood. I will record a cover soon.. Great song..
Flora Tablon
This song brings back memories of yesterday's .